


Queens Regnant

by Jdhodson, nickUnknown76, OneHighZergling, OneHighZergling (orphan_account)



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asta Be Dense, Big Sis Charmy, Black Clover Manga Spoilers, F/M, Genderswap, OP Asta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-09-29 12:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20436101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jdhodson/pseuds/Jdhodson, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickUnknown76/pseuds/nickUnknown76, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneHighZergling/pseuds/OneHighZergling, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/OneHighZergling
Summary: In this world of four kingdoms, magic is the pinnacle of civilization, but there’s a catch; only women are able to harness mana from this land. In order to use their mana, they created books known as Grimoires. These books allow women to harness the power of the mana stored within themselves to perform the phenomena known as magic spells. However, due to women having mana limits too large for most single individuals to handle, a majority are unable to properly control their magic on their own.Through ‘contracts’ with men, women are able to acquire a controllable amount of mana, while the excess is supplied to the men, enabling some of them to use the woman's magic as their own.Here is the story of one such man, a man who cannot form contracts and dreams of being the first male Magic Emperor.





	1. Chapter One: Queen's Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note  
This first chapter will work as a preview to the story, if you like it please leave a comment 
> 
> Special thanks to OneHighZergling for coming up with the initial idea, Raolin1994/Raef_Darksbane for his support in editing, and Jdhodson for working as this story's framework writer  
Please check out their individual stories.  
Thank you all for your help.
> 
> Final note, I own nothing. Credit goes to Black Clover creator Yūki Tabatathis. This story is not for profit just fun.

Chapter One: Queen's Legacy

Long ago, humanity came close to being decimated by demons, but a single Witch rose above the rest to save humankind. This witch was thereafter known as the Magic Empress and rose to the likes of legends. As the decades passed, the title of Magic Empress was passed down from generation to generation. Thanks to the brave actions of that witch, the Clover Kingdom continues to stand strong to this day.

* * *

_YEARS LATER:_  
Hage Village, a small town in the boonies

As the last rays of daylight shone past the giant demon’s skull near the outskirts of Hage Village, two infants were laid in baskets in front of the village church, where their crying could be heard echoing throughout the valley. As night began to cover the land, the priest of the church opened his door to find the two baskets.

"Here we go again," the priest said, picking up the two baskets and bringing them inside. After starting a fire in the fireplace using magic, he took a look at the two newest members of his church. "Let's take a look, shall we? To begin with, are you two brothers?" He asked himself, looking at the two children in the baskets before him. A quick glance determined that they looked nothing alike.

The baby on the left had black hair and was holding a necklace with a light blue, oval-shaped jewel, etched with a cross surrounded by four stars onto the jewel. The baby was nice and calm, as she had already settled in. The baby on the right, however, was more energetic.

"Let's look at your names, shall we? Now, you are Yuna. My, what a beautiful name. Wait, you’re a girl!” The priest exclaimed as he brushed a finger on the child’s cheek, causing her to stir. The priest smiled cheerily. “Well, that's rare,”he muttered, turning his attention to the other child and kneeling down. “Now, how about—" The priest never got to finish that sentence as he felt the tiny feet of the small infant make contact with his face.

"Oof! A little too energetic, aren't we," he chuckled, holding his nose as it dribbled a little blood from the kicks. He looked back at the basket, trying to read the second child's name. “‘Asta,’” he read aloud before looking back to the two children. “Well Asta, Yuna, your troubles are over. Starting today, this will be your new home.” The priest happily welcomed the two new members of his family.

* * *

15 years later

Two farmers preparing the field with magic for the upcoming harvest stopped their work as they suddenly heard a giant commotion coming from the old orphanage from across the plain. "He's at it again, isn't he?" One of the farmers sighed before wiping sweat from his forehead.

The sound was coming from a small, short dirty boy whose messy silver hair was held back by a black headband. He wore a white shirt and black jacket with matching black pants as he talked loudly with a girl that was dressed in a nun's outfit. "I'm going to be the Magic Emperor, and I promise to help fix the orphanage and make you happy, so Sister Lily, will you please be mine and marry me?” He yelled as he bowed to her.

Sister Lily smiled sweetly. "I’m sorry Asta, but I can't; I'm everybody's sister, not just yours.” She answered in an apologetic tone. No matter how many times she had rejected him, he’d always ask again, though he would usually leave her alone for a few weeks before asking again.

Asta began falling back before springing back up. Shouting "I'm not done yet, won't you please reconsider?”.

"I'm sorry Asta, but my answer is still no." She replied as she sweatdropped at the boy's antics.

"I can't accept that. I'm not giving up, please reconsider!" He yelled again, this time moving closer to her.

Grabbing her grimoire and opening it by instinct, Sister Lily responded. “I'm sorry, but can't you just leave me alone!!" She screamed as a large mass of water appeared above Asta’s head in the form of a fist with a cross mark on the back of the hand. “Water Creation Magic: Holy Fist of Love!” She yelled as the giant fist of water came down on Asta, pummeling him into the ground. "Sorry Asta, I didn't mean to use my grimoire on you." She quickly apologized as she knelt down in front of the silver-haired boy.

Asta rose up off the ground, almost like he simply shrugged off the magical attack before yelling again. "I'm not done yet—yahhh!?” He screamed in confusion as he was knocked away by a strong gust of wind. He sat up quickly, looking behind him to find a group of five consisting of two male toddlers, a boy named Nash, a girl named Recca, and a fairly tall long black-haired girl that held an expressionless face as she held out an extended arm before lowering it.

“Asta, are you causing trouble for the Sister again?” Recca questioned as she placed her hands on her hips.

“How many more rejections will it take before you get the hint? Nash added with one hand in his pocket and the other scratching the back of his head, a bored expression on his face.

"Shut up, brats! And you, Yuna! Why are you getting in my way, too?” Asta exclaimed as he pointed towards the black-haired girl in front of him.

Yuna’s response was quick and swift. "Why? Because you’re short, annoying, immature, narrow-minded, and on top of that, have no need to look for a relationship with such a woman.” She spoke as she scratched her chin.

"Is that any way to talk to somebody that was raised alongside you for the last fifteen years?" He yelled with a shocked expression on his face. Yuna simply ignored him as she approached Sister Lily.

"Sister Lily, let me help you with the washing,” Yuna offered as she held out her hands.

"Thank you, Yuna," Sister Lily replied sweetly as she handed the girl a pile of wet washing that was ready to be hung out to dry.

"Stop ignoring me!" Asta exclaimed turning to the two women that were having their own conversation.

"First off, Asta,” Yuna began stopping Asta in his tracks. “Sister Lily is a woman of the cloth; she cannot be married. You’re also too young to be getting married at the age of fifteen anyway." She finished, rolling her eyes at the shorter boy.

"Shut up, Yuna! I didn't ask for your opinion!” He roared as he crouched lower to the ground and raised his clenched fists. "I challenge you to a fight!" He exclaimed, pointing at Yuna, who simply stared at the boy's finger before rolling her eyes again.

"No," was all Yuna responded with as she turned away from him.

"Why not?" He whined loudly as he shook his arms up and down.

"Because it would be a waste of time," Yuna responded with a saddened expression that Asta couldn’t see.

"I'm not giving up!" He exclaimed as he got into position to cast a spell, cocking his arm back with the palm open. “Eat this! My special attack!” He yelled out as he thrust his arm forward in an attempt to shoot magic from his hand, but nothing came out.

He simply gaped at his arm before kneeling down on the ground and turning his head to the sky. “NOTHING CAME OUT!!” He screamed. Off to the side, one of the toddlers was giggling. "Hehe, Brother Asta is funny."

“What did you expect? You don’t have any contracts,” Nash reminded Asta. Asta turned to the younger boy before speaking to him. “What's your deal kid? I’m older than you, have some respect," Asta reprimanded Nash. Nash simply responded by lighting a small flame on the tip of his finger.

”No. In this world, magic is everything. For us boys, our value is determined by how strong the contract we form with a Witch is, and you’re the only boy I’ve ever heard of that can't form any type of contract with anybody.” Nash looked at the older boy. “You can't even share a temporary contract with the priest,” he finished, cutting his flow of mana and letting his finger-flame die out.

"Well, nobody asked you. I'm just going to have to use my secret moves!" Asta exclaimed as he clenched his fist.

“Secret moves? You have secret movies?" Nash questioned skeptically, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Ahhhhhh, I bet you can't do sit-ups as fast as this." Asta then proceeded to lay on the ground before performing sit-ups so fast that he almost became a blur of color. Suddenly there was a quick gust of wind. Everyone looked up to see Yuna using her Wind Magic to dry the wet clothes in an instant.

"Wow, that's amazing. Thank you for your help with drying the laundry, Yuna; this must be really easy for you," Sister Lily praised the black-haired girl as she picked up the basket with the now-dry clothes in it. With Asta no longer receiving any attention, he rushed to a tree stump beside the church where a large pile of logs lay, ready to be cut. To impress them with how fast he could cut wood Asta raised the ax above his head before yelling. “Leave the chopping of wood to me!” He exclaimed, but before he got the chance to swing an ax, a gust of wind cut the log into four perfect segments. Angered by Yuna's interference, he approached to confront her but doesn't get far before getting hit in the face by the church’s wooden doors as they opened.

The priest, having heard the commotion burst through the door, with tears in his eyes, exclaiming. "Yuna is the hope of this church!"

"For her, getting into the magic knights isn't just a hopeless dream. She"ll make it in for sure," Nash spoke up as he looked at Yuna with starry eyes. While everybody else continued to praise Yuna, Sister Lily noticed Asta sitting off to the corner of the yard, moping.

"The awarding ceremony at Grimoire tower is coming up soon, once you get a contract that works for you, you'll be able to use magic in no time at all," she said, trying to cheer the boy up.

Asta raised his head; he had tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Sister Lily." He whispered before looking up at the statue of the first Magic Empress that stood on top of the giant demon skull.

"That's right, I'm going to make the strongest contract. I'll join up with the Magic Knights and, once I’ve made a name for myself, I’ll follow in your footsteps and become the Magic Emperor." Asta declared as he stood on top of a fence post with a fist raised into the air.

Nash, having walked in on Asta’s declaration, stood beside Sister Lily before speaking to her. "He'll never give up this nonsense, will he?" He asked, exasperated, as he looked up at the silver-haired boy.

"Then I'll come back and fix this crumbling dump of a church!" Asta added. The priest overheard this and grew angry with Asta's last comment. "Crumbling dump? Now that's taking it too far!" The priest exclaimed.

"Isn't that right, Yuna!" Asta turned to face the black-haired girl and offered her a fist bump. Yuna just turned and walked away from him, going back into the church. As she walked away, Asta stared into the dirt, saddened by the lack of a comment from his once-best friend.

"I'll show all of you," he muttered under his breath before starting to run in the opposite direction of the church while yelling. "I swear, just watch and you'll see, damn you!" He exclaimed before vanishing into the forest. Asta stopped for a second but continued running as Sister Lily called out "Asta, come back!"  
Nash shook his head. "How is he supposed to be the older one?"

* * *

As the doors closed behind her, Sister Lily saw Yuna sitting in front of the altar. She slowly walked up to the younger woman before speaking. " Hey Yuna, do you think you could maybe try to get along better with Asta? I mean, like how you used to when you two were younger. You two were always together." Lily asked as she remembered back to when Yuna was a little kid. She used to be such a crybaby. She liked to keep her hair short back then, which made many people confuse her for a boy.

Yuna used to be afraid of using her magic, having been born with a magic level closer to that of royalty. The church tried having Asta form a contract with her to help her control her mana, but as the Crest formed on the boys’ left hand, it had suddenly shattered and released wind magic everywhere.

Asta sustained an injury where the Crest had been, leaving a scar on his left hand. After that, Yuna refused to form contracts with anybody else, choosing instead to not use her magic. Then, one night, she came back with Asta, who had been badly injured. After that night, Yuna never cried again and started practicing her magic in private until she got full control of it and her mana.

Yuna stood up from the altar before replying to Sister Lily. "What's the point? There's just no use in getting along with that one.” She sighed. “One night, Asta asked me if he could make a temporary contract to help more around the church. With temporary contracts, simply placing the Crest on a piece of paper or item would be fine, so I thought that it would be ok and not remind him of that day.” She started, looking at her hands.

“After he grabbed the piece of paper, I saw the Crest shatter again and destroyed the paper, drenching the room. I found out that, unlike other boys who have a set level of mana they can store, Asta had no room whatsoever to store mana. With the mana having nowhere to go, it destroyed itself.” She added before looking up towards Sister Lily with a saddened expression stricken across her face.

“Now that I think about it, Asta changed that night, too. That was the day he started running to who-knows-where and coming back covered in dirt and scratches.” She said looking back down at the ground. “I've always wondered where he goes off to and what's he's doing.”

* * *

Grunts echoed through the small hidden grove that was growing underneath the giant demon skull. "994, 995, 996, 997, 998, 999...” the shirtless Asta counted as he continued to do handstand push-ups with one hand while. His hardened muscles and abs glistening in the sunlight from sweat.

“1000! And now for some mana-storage-enhancing mulberry Juice!" Asta exclaimed as he dropped down from his handstands, pulling out a bottle of juice that smells rancid but was known for increasing one's mana storage. He quickly finished the juice before going back to his workout, which was now weightlifting boulders.

After a while, Asta finally dropped the last boulder before pumping his fists in the air. "I will be the Magic Emperor, and nothing is going to stop me! The first step is getting my body trained up." He yelled into the forest before he began doing sit-ups at a speed where his body is blurred by his movements. "Ahhhhh ahhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhh!" He screamed as he began to feel the familiar burn of his muscles. In the distance, an ominous wind passes by as he continues his workout routine.


	2. Renewed Vows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> March, when the Firefly Dandelions float in the air. Once a year throughout the Clover Kingdom, children who have reached the age of fifteen gathers around the Grimoire Tower, a huge building that can be seen from miles away. Inside, the walls are covered in bookshelves holding more grimoires then the eye could see. Here, they hold the Grimoire Ceremony, where the children must face a rite of passage to increase their magical power. 
> 
> Here, boys of all ages gather for a chance to form a new contract with the new witches, hoping to add to their existing contracts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note   
This will be short, this will be a long chapter. if you have any questions on the Ideas and Plot changes to the story, send me a comment, Thank you.
> 
> Special thanks to OneHighZergling for coming up with the initial idea, Raolin1994/Raef_Darksbane for his support in editing, and Jdhodson for working as this story's framework writer  
Please check out their individual stories.  
Thank you all for your help.
> 
> Final note, I own nothing. Credit goes to Black Clover creator Yūki Tabatathis. This story is not for profit just fun.
> 
> Glossary
> 
> Abc: magic spell/items

Chapter Two: Renewed Vows

“Look at all these Grimoires! I wonder which one will be yours, Yuna?” exclaimed Asta wearing black gloves to cover his scar in public well he, Yuna, and the rest of the children chatted well gathered in the center of the tower. Their family was on the left side of the tower, waiting for the ceremony to start. “Once I get an official contract, I’ll finally be able to use magic. I’ll catch up with you soon, Yuna,” Asta thought as he looked around the room.

“This is the day that I’ll become a full-fledged mage.” A short blonde noble girl wearing a deep sapphire skirt and white shirt said to an Auburn Hair, green neck shirt-wearing boy. “Took long enough.”

“Look what the cat dragged in,” said the boy, looking at Asta and Yuna. “Could they be any shabbier? We shouldn’t have to give Grimoires or contracts to anyone who walks in off the street.” 

“Makes me sick to my stomach,” responded the girl, giving them an ugly face.

“You don't think the pathetic creatures would be foolish enough to attempt the Magic Knights Entrance Exam in six months, do you?” asked the boy, smirking.

“Only high-ranking nobles and royalty have enough innate magic power to pass the exam,” the girl answered with a mocking voice.

“See the shrimp boy? I heard that he can't form contracts at all, not even temporary ones,” he said in an overbearing tone.

“Oh, wow. We’d better take extra special care of him. I mean, he’s one of a kind! The only man in the entire country who can't form a magical contract,” she responded in a babying voice.

“Welcome to the Grimoire Tower, Acceptees.” An old man with a long white beard and hair descended from the ceiling on a floating platform. Using a small floating orb that projected his voice, he announced, “On this momentous day, you will take your first step down a new path. I wish you integrity, hope, and love. For those who don’t know, my name is Drouot. I am the master of this Grimoire Tower. Now, never once has anybody from this region distinguished her- or himself by becoming a Magic Knight, much less the Magic Empress. I pray that there is one among you that has what it takes to become the most powerful mage in the land.” 

Asta, Yuna, and the noble boy and girl looked up at the stand, each believing themselves to be the one. ”Seriously, I mean it!” yelled the old man, silencing the room before clearing his throat. “Ahem. And now, to continue the ceremony, can I have all the boys move to the far right wall while the girls accept their grimoires?” Both the boy and Asta separated from their companions, leaving the girl and Yuna with a handful of other girls in the center. 

“Now I know this might sound strange, but I need you to release your mana. I know you’ve been taught ever since you where little to compress your mana using temporary contracts, but by releasing your mana, you’re powering the tower’s built-in spell that, once powered, will show you the recommended number of contracts you'll need to control your mana.” 

Though everyone was hesitant at first, that was until Yuna released a strong emerald green mana, shooting itself to the top of the tower, after that everyone started releasing their mana. One after another, a rainbow of different colored mana formed, shining brightly at the tower’s ceiling. Slowly, the colors merged and faded away, leaving only a bright light. Small particles of mana started falling from the ceiling and landed on the girls. Each time a particle of mana touched a girl, it would reshape itself above her head, displaying a number between zero and ten for all to see.

After the initial shock of the spell, the headmaster of the tower spoke. “These numbers represent the number of contracts you’ll need to control your mana. The brighter the number, the more mana you have.” 

All the girls in the center started bragging. “Look I have a smaller number than you,” said one of the girls to their friend, who responded, “ Yeah, maybe, but mine’s brighter.” 

As everyone talked, a voice shouted loudly, interrupting everyone. “Aughhhh,” laughed the noble girl, “look at my number! It’s so bright, but I only need three contracts to control it.” 

“Six months from now, Me and Him—” the noble girl gestured to the boy that was with her at the far right of the tower, “—will be taking the Prestigious Magic Knights Entrance Exam.”

“And we’ll pass it too, just wait.” added the boy, grabbing the attention of all the girls in the center.

As everyone turned to look at the noble boy, the girl noticed Asta in the back of the group looking at the ceiling with his hands with black gloves raised, as if to receive something. ”Ha Ha Ha! Check out the pipsqueak. That idiot actually thinks he’ll be getting a grimoire! Well, news flash, boy; never at any point in history has a boy ever gotten a grimoire, and it's going to continue being that way forever!” shouted the noble girl as the other boys moved to the side to reveal Asta.

“Uh, hey?” Asta responded, surprised that anybody noticed him. The crowd gasped as they notice the position he’s in.“This is not what it looks like. I was just st—” 

Asta was interrupted by the sound of a girl gasping loudly from out among the crowd. “Just like lady Roselei,” a girl said gesturing to Yuna. As everybody turned to look, they quickly realized how bright Yuna’s number was, and that it was even brighter than the noble girl’s. What really caught everyone by surprise was the fact that the number was zero. This situation had only been heard of on one other occasion: Lady Roselei the Captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knights squad. With everybody's eyes on Yuna, Asta quickly moved back into the crowd before looking back at Yuna. ”You’ve taken the lead once again,” He whispered, trying not to get the crowd's attention again. ”But just you wait; I will be victorious.”

“Uhm...” The sound of the tower master clearing his throat recaptured everyone’s attention, and they turned to face him. ”Ok girls, I know that this is not why all of you are here, but there are some rules you must know before we continue. First, these numbers are meant to show you your skill level in controlling mana, as well as the amount of mana you have. Second, these numbers are not final. Lastly, some of you may not know this, but, depending on how many contracts a boy can hold, one boy could carry all your excess mana—or more. And now, with that out of the way, to accept your grimoires.”

As he finished, books around the room began to light up with different colored mana. All of them lifted off the shelves and gathered in the middle of the air before descending to the crowd below. 

“Finally, my very own grimoire!” A girl exclaimed as the grimoire floated into her hands. 

The pair of friends that had compared their number now compared their grimoires to each other. ”Check it out! Mine’s bigger than yours.” 

”Yeah, maybe, but mine’s thicker!” The friend responded.

“Here it is. My one-way ticket out of this little village,” a blonde girl said, grateful for her grimoire.

“I can carry on the family business!” A redhead exclaimed, holding her grimoire in the air.

“This is my grimoire? Seriously?” holding a thin sheet grimoire with one hand. A blond girl questioned.

“Why is mine so tiny?” asked a girl with glasses, holding her grimoire in the palm of her hand. 

Another girl with long hair flipped through the pages of her grimoire. Most of them were blank, but eventually, she did find a single spell. “I guess… I'll decide what to do once there are more pages of magic here, She concluded with a joyful face wondering on what the future held.

The noble girl smiled at the beautiful patterns on her cover. She smirked opening her mouth to speak, but before she let out a sound a bright light blinded her and everyone around. Cries of pained surprise echoed across the room as people covered their eyes.

Everyone squinted into the light, trying to find its source. Those not totally blinded were able to see it coming from the grimoire floating in front of Yuna. The Tower Master gasped as he made out the cover of the book through the light.” Is that… the four-leaf clover?” He stutters shocked at the revelation of what was happening before him.

The crowd gasped again at the Tower Masters' comment. The noble girl earlier smugness had been replaced with terror. Her voice trembling, she asked, “The four-leaf? Like out of the legend?” everybody stared in awe, not noticing a pale-faced man in the far corner that looked like nobody at the ceremony with long black hair covering his left eye, smirking as he eyed Yuna’s Grimoire.

The priest in the corner with the families of the other kids asked the same question. “R-really, the same grimoire that was bestowed upon the first Magic Empress?”

Sister Lily answered, “If the stories about it are true, it’s imbued not only with tremendous power, but also good luck.”

“And it’s hers? A filthy little commoner?” the noble girl hissed.

Yuna turned around to face the crowd, grimoire in hand, and stated:” I will become the Magic Empress.” Her face bore a look of pure confidence.

The crowd gasped again, shocked by Yuna’s statement. Even Nash, who was normally very level-headed, was surprised. Upon hearing Yuna, Asta, shocked and saddened by his ex- best-friend’s statement emerged from the back of the crowd and fell to his knees in despair. “How much more will you continue to move ahead? Why must I always be left behind in your shadows?” Asta cried, his voice drowned out by the cheering of the crowd.

The priest, with tears in his eyes, exclaims “she’s the brightest star in the whole village of Hage!”

The toddlers yelling in excitement for their older sister. “You’re amazing, Yuna!”

Nash and Recca spoke in unison. “She’s so cool!”

After wallowing for a moment, Asta rose from the floor. He began to talk to Yuna, starting in a whisper that quickly escalated into shouting. “Yuna. Just wait. I’m hot on your heels. I’ll catch up to you. I am your rival!” He declared, cocking a thumb at himself.

Upon his last statement, the whole tower went quiet for a moment before breaking into laughter. The girls in the crowd started to ridicule him. “Her rival? Who does he think he is? Big talk for some idiot. Doesn't he know that a boy will never be more powerful than a girl, especially one with a four-leaf clover.”

Instead of laughing with everyone else, Yuna just stared at Asta before looking away and walking off past him. ”Ridiculous,” she says while she walks away. As Yuna got further away, Asta dropped his hand a little, saddened by her response. 

“Well everyone, time to go. The priest said, starting to walk to the exit. “We’ve got a lot of preparations to make for the big banquet. Since today's special, you all get three pop-potatoes a piece!” he says enthusiastically, causing the two toddlers to cheer behind him. 

Recca rolled her eyes..”Or maybe we could have something different for a change?” 

Nash stared sympathetically at Asta before following them.

“Hey! where are you guys going? The ceremonies not done yet!” Asta yelled as his supposed family walks away.

“Sorry Asta, but we need to get home early if we want the pop-potatoes to cook properly.” the priest replied as he walked away. “Come home once the ceremony is over.”

As all of this is happening, the long-haired pale stranger slipped out of the tower and followed behind Yuna, chuckling as he exited the building, “Well, isn’t this extraordinary? A girl wonder, and from a sleepy little village, too.” the stranger said before vanishing into the crowd.

XXX

“Ok everybody, let's get back on track, the Tower Master declared. “Can I have all the girls move from the center of the tower to the left side with the families. If you had a zero as your number, or already have a person you’ve chosen to contract with that isn’t here, you may leave the building. Everybody else, please go to your assigned locations. All you boys, please move to the center of the tower and line up side by side. We'll be using the excess mana from the first part to give you a number related to your ability to store mana. Just like with the girls, the numbers will vary depending on the strength of the contract.” He raised his hands toward the ceiling once more and shouted, “All males please, accept this mana!”

Once more, the coalesced mana began to shower from the ceiling, landing on boys’ heads and forming into numbers, this time averaging between one and five.

“Ahh. man, I thought that I would be able to have more than this, smirk” A boy said, looking at the number two floating above his head.

The noble boy from earlier had a six over his head, more than the average compared to commoners, but didn’t comment on it. He was far more docile now that his companion was out of earshot.

“Hey, uh... “ the crowd of boys turned to look at who made the strange comment. “Is my number running late or something?” Asta asked, looking for any signs of mana coming down.

The Tower Master coughed, clearing his throat. “Uh… try again next year?” He said, confused. having sworn that they had enough mana to have done everyone.

“What?” Asta shouted, confused by what the old man had just said.

All the boys start laughing. “Oh, wow, you’re kidding!” one boy shouts ”that's actually kind of awesome. The guy who challenged that girl can’t get his mana limit read until next year.”

“I can’t believe it,” comments one of the girls that had stayed behind. “That’s awful.”

“Ha!” yells the noble girl before walking up to the noble boy. “Well, he’s got us beat in one area, anyway: in complete and utter uselessness.” she mocked. 

“Yeah...” the noble boy agreed, looking away, not wanting to be part of this anymore.

“Ok, that's the end of the ceremony. Any girls that are interested in making contracts with these boys can stay and do so.” said the Tower Master before retreating into the back of the tower.

Asta waited as the girls walked up to the boys to form contracts. He didn't need the best contract or the strongest; he just needed anyone to form a contract with him to get him even one step closer to the leap that Yuna had taken. But as time passed, more and more girls avoided him, all circling a distance away from him.

“Why won’t anybody make a contract with me?” he exclaimed, gathering some attention, a few choosing to ignore him having become fed up with his antics.

“We don’t know your mana storage level,” commented a brave girl in the crowd.

“How does that affect things? I could still possibly hold one.” His counter-argument was met with averted eyes as many of the girls looked away.

The noble girl shouted having become frustrated by him. “This affects you because your value in life is that score. For us girls, it represents how much mana we can hold without the need for contracts to control it. For you, it's the amount of mana you're able to hold on to. If you can't hold any at all, you’re worthless.” She said venomously.

She turned to look at Asta. Believing she had broken the commented spirit, But as she made eye contact she found still determined eye look back. She became furious, before coming up with an idea. “Ok, fine. You want to prove you have the potential; form a contract with me,” she said, grinning. Many who were listening gasped in surprise.

“Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!” the noble boy yelled. “You said that if I had enough storage to hold all your excess mana, you would form a contract with me for all of it!” he accused.

“Don’t worry, this is just to test a point. This trash won't be able to even hold one contract. I'm a woman of my word.” she responded before turning back to Asta. “The only condition that I have is that if by some miracle, you manage to hold on to the contract, you must serve me without exceptions or excuses for as long as you hold the contract. Do you agree to this condition?”

“Hey, that's an unfair contract,” commented one of the boys before being silenced by the death glare she sent at him.

“I’ll take it,” Asta responded without hesitation, accepting any steps that could get him closer to Yuna. He lifted his hands with his right hand over his left and knelt on one knee.

“Good, let's get this over with,” she said. “Sealing Magic: Fire Contract.” As she finished, a bright flame appeared over Asta’s right hand as though the black gloves, the crest of a magic contract formed.

Everything was still as the contract seemed to have been stable. A look of panic overcame the noble’s face. She felt that she made an idiot out of herself but a cracking sound caught her attention. Right before everybody's eyes, the light of the crest shattered before a small burst of flame released from the crest catching both of Asta’s gloves on fire. He quickly removed them before they could hurt him. To his relief, it seemed like the fire was reduced even if it did look big when it ignited, as well as no scar or injury was left on his right hand this time.

“See, I told you that it wouldn’t work,” she said, overjoyed to have put this commoner in his place, before noticing a particular scar on Asta’s left hand. ”I can't believe this; you’ve already tried forming a normal contract before, and it failed—just like this one. You probably did it with that bitch with the four-leaf clover. Oh, the irony, you already knew you couldn’t form contracts, but you came anyway. What type of naive idiot can’t understand their own limits!” She laughed as Asta, insulted by that comment Asta went running out the back exit.

The noble boy worried shouted “Hey, stop look what you've done. I don't want that four-leaf clover chick coming after us because you decided to humiliate her boyfriend in front of the entire village!”

“What do you care; she’s just a commoner, a filthy commoner,” she said having gone slightly mad with power by now. 

“What do I care? I don't want a fricken commoner with more mana and control then you coming to kill me over your actions! Not to mention that she has a fricken four-leaf grimoire! contested the Nobel boy, worried by his supposed friend’s current actions

“That girl, that filthy commoner. She stole everything! This day was supposed to be about me, and nobody else!” she ranted as the crowd of people back off worried and frightened by her comments. “And I'm going to make her pay.”

XXX

As the light from the setting sun landed in between the horns of the demon's skull, its distance making it almost seem as if it were a person in front of you. Asta had climbed the tallest tree and now moped while hanging upside down from its branches. “I was so sure. All this time, I just needed a contract and I'd be able to use magic. I thought that the first time was just a fluke, that I wasn't strong enough to hold mana, but even now, to not be able to form even one contract...” Asta moaned, looking over his life. Then thoughts of a promise made long ago made him reconsider. He swung himself forward landing on the branch he hung form. “No! I won’t give up that easily!” Asta exclaimed to the heavens, looking up at the statue of the magic empress. Laughing he exclaimed, “You’re not winning this round, fate. Don't underestimate me! It doesn’t matter if it takes a year, or two, or ten, or a hundred! I don’t care! I’ll work until I get my magic! I will become the Magic Emperor. I’ll prove that anyone can be great. Even a poor boy in the slums, who was abandoned at birth. Take that, ha, ha! And just you wait, Yuna!”

XXX

“Hey, um… Isn't that going a bit too far?” questioned the noble boy. He and the noble girl had cornered Yuna as she waited near the entrance of the tower for Asta to emerge.

I, I mean we were supposed to be the stars of the show today. She ruined that! A low-life commoner. And she got the Four-Leaf Clover? She answered furiously. “I need to make her pay!”

“Wait!” the noble boy tried to intercede, but was too late she had already opened up her grimoire, ready to burn the Yuna to the ground with her spell.

“I’ll burn that book until it's nothing but ash!” She exclaimed as fiery red mana covered her grimoire. She sent forward a wave of fire that scorched the ground as it traveled to Yuna.

As the wave of fire got closer Yuna calmly moved her left hand in a circle before gesturing upwards, summoning a twister that surrounded her body, protecting her from the flame. The flames were pushed aside and quickly extinguished by the fierce wind. 

The noble girl shocked that her strongest attack failed. “She dispelled my flames without even using her Grimoire! She stepped back before she commanded her companion to attack. “Go on! You try!

Again the boy tried to interject but was cut off with more commands and threats by the girl.

“Do it, or I’ll cancel our contract right here and now. I’ll tell everyone back home how much of a chicken you were. I'll make a laughing stock of you, just like I did of that other filthy commoner!” she screamed.

This comment angered Yuna; she knew that they had to have been talking about Asta; What had this brat done to him? Is this why he hadn't come out yet? She was furious inside, but was outwardly calm, the only facial sign that she was angry was the slight curve of her eyebrows.

With all of this happening—the noble girl yelling at the boy, the boy questioning what to do, and Yuna distracted by her internal anger for what happened to Asta—they failed to notice the number of iron chains that were moving along the side of the walls before it was too late. Before the three could react, the chains struck, separating the two nobles and locking them in a palace of chains. The chains tied Yuna in place, restraining her and making her drop her grimoire.

“Well we can't have that getting all burned up, now can we?” said a mysterious figure as he walked into the alleyway. He smiled at the nobles’ frightened faces peering out from their iron cocoon. “Resisting would be a foolish waste of your time. My magic item Binding Iron Chains blocks its captives’ movements and magic.”

“What do you want? Who are you?” Yuna asked. Her outward demeanor was stern and calm, but inside she was panicking, having flashbacks of that fatal night.

The stranger chuckled. “I suppose a village girl wouldn’t know, but until very recently, I was relatively well known in the Magic Knights as Binding Chains Revchi. But they expelled me from their illustrious ranks after discovering my association with the Scavenging Vultures, and now I am nought but a humble thief. So now if you excuse me, I'll be taking this grimoire of yours,” he said picking the book up off the ground.

“You said that your name was Revchi?” Yuna asked, trying to maintain her facade. “Why bother stealing it? There’s no point. Grimoire—”

“Grimoires must be used by their chosen masters,” he responded, cutting her off. “Yes, village girl, I’m well aware. That said, there are plenty of black-market collectors who would pay a small fortune in exchange for such a unique specimen. Not to mention that my friends in the Scavenging Vultures have methods of siphoning mana through grimoires, making your mana extra profitable. Have you never heard of a forced contract? Probably not with how far you are from the capitol. The four-Leaf clover may have chosen you, but you only received it. An untrained novice, a mere hatchling. This is not your lucky day. Such a pity for you I happened to be here; your legend is over before it even began.” His mockery turned to appraisal as he noticed the oval necklace Yuna was wearing. “O-ho. I bet that pendant would fetch a good price. Don’t mind if I do...”

As Revchi approached Yuna, she showed the first signs of fear, flinching as she tried to get away from the mad ex-Magic Knight. Her panic was giving way to full-blown hysteria. History was repainting itself. Oh, that fateful night that still haunts her dreams. How she'd grown to dislike all men. Or almost all men; the image of a short silver-haired boy came to mind. If only Asta was here.

“Hold it!” came a voice from the roofs of the alleyway, stopping Revchi in his tracks. Ahhhhh, yield Asta as he sprinted off the roof of one of the buildings that made the alleyway, before crashing into the wall of the opposing building, falling back onto the ground. 

“Some hero,” Yuna thought sarcastically as she saw this happen. But deep inside, she was happy. It seemed that history was truly repeating itself, both the bad and the good. Though she was proud of her accomplishments in controlling her mana, she hated that she had to suppress so much. Because of this, she never really got to express herself correctly to Asta. Though she'd never say it to his face, Asta was truly her Knight in rusty armor. “Took you long enough,” she said bleakly as Asta picked himself off the ground.

“What the hell is going on here?” Asta screamed, pointing at the noble girl. “I’ve come to rescue...” He trailed off, noticing that the girl was chained to the wall.

The noble girl hurt and bleeding could not believe that her only hope lay in the hands of the magicless commoner. But with nobody else around, she had to comply; she glanced quickly at Revchi, trying to convey her message with just a look. Luckily, Asta understood.

He directed himself toward Revchi and shouted, “Hey, creep, what's your deal? That’s Yuna's grimoire you’ve got. What are you doing with it? You dirty rotten thief!” After an opening like that, both Yuna and the noble girl were actually surprised that he had caught on so quickly.

Revchi turned to face Asta, hunching over and put his hand on the chains. “Why look, it's the sad little boy who waited so long but never got a contract.”

“Oh, you’ve heard of me?” Asta yelled before hunching over himself. “Yeah, you’re right. The poor, markless kid with no crest on his hands, But the only hand a grimoire belongs in is with its true master. Now give it back to Yuna!”

Revchi started maniacally laughing, covering face with his hand before pulling his long hair back to expose the long scar on his left eye. “You really are a sheltered creature if you believe that kind of reasoning will get you anywhere with the likes of me. Allow me to disabuse you of that notion.”

Renchi pointed to Asta. Yuno, knowing what's coming next, drops her calm demeanor for the first time. “Asta run!” She yelled, truly worried for her friend as chains from the wall and start following Revchi’s hand.

Asta stares down Revchi, coming to his knees to get ready to sprint. “From a waste of space like him? Not a chance in hell!” Asta exclaimed before starting his run towards Revchi. He manages to parry the attacking chains Revchi sent at him as he sped past the thief entering his blind spot. Asta turned, pulling back his fist and yelling as he goes in for the punch. His fist came close to landing but is stopped when Renchi’s chain wrapped around his waistline. The air pressure of Asta’s fist, shift the ex-mage’s clothes. The chains began to tighten, pulling Asta slightly backward. Asta yelled “I’ll get you!” as he pushes forward. Step by step, the magic chains begin to drain his strength. 

Revchi smirked. “No, boy. You’re finished here.” 

Asta heard more rattling behind him as the man spoke. He turned his head to find a number of chains pointed at him. “Binding Iron Chains: Pitless Viper Attack!” Revchi shouted, sending the chains to strike and tear at Asta.

“That's one serious attack,” Asta thought as he is pushed back into the wall, the impact of the boy and the chains throwing smoke into the air around him. “So this is what mages outside the village can do…” The smoke cleared, revealing his heavily damaged body bleeding from the mouth most likely having broken a rib as he laid in the small crater he left in the wall. “Even as much as I’ve trained my body, I don’t stand a chance.”

“You see boy, it’s no use.” Revchi walked up to the boy and leaned his foot against Asta’s left shoulder, pushing the boy back against the wall. He grinned. “Thanks for playing, though! Hahaha.”

“It's not over. I’m not done. I will be the Magic Emperor.” Asta grunted, blood spurting from his mouth.

“The Magic Emperor? You’re joking.” the thief said, amused by his comment. “The thing is, these chains feed off of the magic power of any person they entangle. They do so by entering into the person's magic storage. And you have none, no space, no storage, not even a single inch.” This statement shocked Asta. “You were probably born that way. I guess this explains why you can't form a contract. To possess not the slightest ability for magic in a world where magic is everything?” Revchi laughed. “Why, that makes you a rare and precious bird, indeed!”

“If that’s true, then… No matter how hard I push myself, I’ll never be able to use magic,” Asta thought.

“You know, I really can't think of anything more pitiful,” Revchi said, smirking at his discovery of the boy’s potential. “Forget about becoming the Magic Emperor, you’ll be lucky to just get a job. I bet your genius girlfriend is having a good laugh at your expense right about now.” He says well repeatedly stomping at Asta's shoulder.

“Yeah, maybe.” he thought, imagining her expression. “Yuna’s so great, the four-leaf clover chose her. Then there’s me.”

Revchi gestured to Yuna, “This world has no use for somebody like you. A poor, magicless fool. You might as well give it all up right now. You were born a loser, you worthless runt!”

“Yeah. He’s right. No matter how hard I try, I guess that there are some things that just aren’t possible.” Asta closed his eyes, having lost all hope. “So I might as well give—”

“Hey! Who you calling a loser?” Yuna yelled, still stuck wrapped in chains. “Asta. It's true that you aren’t going to become the Magic Emperor. Not ever.” 

“You hear that? Even your friend knows that it's impossible.” Revchi gloated.

“That because I am going to be the Magic Empress,” Yuna exclaimed, trying to reach Asta from her chained spot.

“What?” replied Revchi, confused on how she’ll become the Magic Empress without her grimoire or mana.

Yuna looked at the man, speaking slowly and forcefully. “You’re wrong about Asta, Revchi.” Asta slowly begins to open his eyes ’Very wrong. Asta’s no loser or my boyfriend. He’s my rival!” Upon hearing this Asta awakens completely, his eyes fully open.

“Huh? This is who you would claim as your rival? The only person in the world without magic?” Revchi questioned as he looked towards Yuna, not noticing Asta slowly lifting his hands up to Revchi’s foot.

“You. Get off of me!” Asta yelled, shocking Revchi, who had gotten used to Asta’s quiet demeanor. Asta’s grip on Revchi’s ankle strengthened with each passing second, forcing Revchi to step back, removing his foot from the boy’s shoulder. “Sorry, you had to see me at such a weak moment, Yuna. Just… give me a second. That's all. Then I’ll destroy this guy,” Asta said weakly. As he spoke, an ominous aura overcame the alleyway. A black shadow surrounded Asta; behind him, the walls of the tower could be heard breaking as a black grimoire emerges from the tower walls and landed in front of him, floating with the same ominous aura around it. ”Is that... a grimoire?”

“I knew it,” Yuna stated. “Like you wouldn’t be chosen, Asta? That’d be ridiculous.” As Asta made contact with the grimoire the ominous aura that surrounded the area changed to black along with Astas hands. Yuna thought, ”This is what you are, this is what you’ve always done.” As the now-black aura made contact with Revchi’s chains they fell to the ground, having lost all their stored mana.“You have a way of making the impossible possible. Now and back then.” As Yuna stared at Asta, who had begun to stand once again, she recalled the ever-faithful night many years ago, back when she and Asta where still young. 

XXX

“I’m gonna be the Magic Emperor.” A younger Asta said to a younger Yuna as he laid on the ground hurt and in pain. “I’ll keep you, and everybody else safe,” Asta said well giving Yuna her pendent. “No more worrying about food or money. You’ll have everything you ever wanted. I’ll prove it. I’ll show them all.”

“Show them? Prove what?” asked a teary-eyed, Yuna. 

”That even when you’re poor, a commoner, and an orphan, you can still become the Magic Emperor.”

XXX

“Is that really a grimoire?” said the frightened Revchi as he stepped away from Asta. ”But that's impossible. No man can have a grimoire; how could you be granted one? You don’t even have any contracts! You have no space to carry mana! How could you get a grimoire? And why are your hand black? What kind of freak of nature are you?” He exclaimed, dismayed by what was happening to him. He poured all his remaining magic into his chains and shot them toward Asta. With a simple swipe of his hands, the chains fall to the ground once again, lacking the mana to move. In utter horror, Revchi exclaimed, “You took my mana and turned it into your magic power?” 

Asta got into position as the muscles in his body bulged. In the blink of an eye, he propelled himself forward toward the thief leaving a shock wave behind him. As he approached Revchi, he declared, “Even without traditional magic power, I will be the Magic Emperor! My magic is never giving up!” Revchi screamed in pain as Asta’s black fist collided with his face, sending him crashing through the tower wall. The only sign that he had survived was the groaning coming from under the broken wall. Asta panted, trying to catch his breath. “I always figured, if I can’t use magic, at least I can use my body. I trained to build up strength, and it looks like it's finally paid off.”

“Asta,” Yuna called out, no longer wrapped in chains. Upon turning to look at her, he remembered what she told him that fateful night. Asta remembered feeling worried after getting a bad feeling when the priest sent Yuna to deliver a letter for him. After following her, he found her being attacked by a drunk man who had confused Yuna for a noble’s son. Because of her fear of magic, Yuna hadn’t been protecting herself. The drunk man had threatened to burn Yuna with simple fire magic if she didn’t hand over her pendant. Luckily, Asta was able to drive the man away, but not without getting hurt. While he remembered the pain, what had really stayed with him was the promise they made together.

XXX

A young Yuna cried over her friend. “Asta, hang in there. “I’m sorry. It's all my fault. I should use my magic. Why do I have to look like a boy? I’m so sorry.” 

“This?” Asta asked, pointing at his injury. “Please, don’t worry about it. This is nothing. After all, I’m gonna be the Magic Emperor, right? I’m gonna be the Magic Emperor. I’ll keep you, and everybody else safe,” Asta said well giving Yuna her pendent. “No more worrying about food or money. You’ll have everything you ever wanted. I’ll prove it. I’ll show them all.”

“Show them? Prove what?” asked a teary-eyed, Yuna. 

”That even when you’re poor, a commoner, and an orphan, you can still become the Magic Emperor.”

“You really think so?” Yuna asked, wondering if what he said was true. 

Asta grinned. “Yeah.”

“Commoners? Orphans? she asked, still hesitant.

“Yeah, anybody. As long as they’re willing to work hard.” Asta said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Anybody?” asked Yuna.

“Even me, and even you,” replied Asta.

“Yuna was taken in by his words “I… I’m never going to cry again,” she said with a newfound passion, clearing her eyes from her tears. “I’ve decided.” 

“Whaddya mean?” he asked, wondering what conclusion she’d come to.

“I’m going to become the Magic Empress. I’ll work hard and get stronger so I can protect you and everybody else. I’ll do whatever it takes, and I'll never give up!” 

XXX

“Check it out, Yuna: I got a snazzy new grimoire instead of a contract. Okay, it’s a little beat-up and I have no idea how it works. But It's mine and I’ll cherish it forever.” Asta said, overjoyed that he finally had some type of magic.

“Well you saved me again,'' Yuna said as she walked past Asta to the entrance of the alleyway. “I will repay my debt one day.” She paused when she reached the entrance and looked back at the boy. “We made a promise, Asta. Do you remember it?” she asked.

XXX

So, you want to be the Magic Empress, huh?” asked Asta “That means… Yuna.” He paused, looking at his friend.

The two friends smiled at each other, determination glittering in their eyes. “You are my Rival!”

XXX

“I actually can’t believe you remember it,” responded Asta, joining his friend at the end of the alley. “The way you’ve been acting lately, I was pretty sure you’d forgotten.”

“Like I’d be friends with someone I consider my rival. You showed me it was possible, gave me hope. That even though we’re poor orphans, commoners, we can still make something of ourselves in this world. And to prove that…” 

“To make Sister lily and everybody else happy…” replied Asta.

“We’ll fight to see who will be the next Magic Emperor/Empress. Whatever it takes.” both Asta and Yuna said in unison as the same sunset that once covered two baskets fifteen years ago covered the land that they call home.

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Yuna crossed her arms. “That felt weird,” she said before noticing something. “Asta? Why are your hands black?”

“What do you mean Yun—Ahhhhhhhhh!” Asta screamed, noticing his still-black hands.”What's going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endnotes
> 
> Well, that's the end of Chapter Two, the longest chapter I've written to date. We will begin the magic Knights Entrance Exam Arc starting next week.
> 
> That will be all for today if you liked it and you're a member press then follow button down below and comment your thoughts till then see you next time

**Author's Note:**

> Endnotes
> 
> This will be the end of chapter one I plan on uploading a new chapter every weekday if I can but this may not be possible some days because of school. Comment any mistakes and I will fix them
> 
> That will be all for today if you liked it and you're a member then subscribe and comment your thoughts till then see you next time.


End file.
